Mohali (Punjab) [India], June 30 : Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer on Friday wrote to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) President Roger Binny, urging him to allot a few World Cup matches to his state.
India is set to play host to ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 later this year.
In his letter to the BCCI president, the Punjab minister claimed that there was "no sense of fair play" in the scheduling of matches for the showpiece event.
"Punjab is renowned throughout the length and breadth of the globe for its age-old traditions of peerless bravery, unmatched hospitality and unwavering faith in secular ideals. This land of warriors blessed by Gurus, Saints, Philosophers, and Poets has nurtured the ideals of peace, compassion, and communal amity since the primordial times," the minister wrote to Binny.
Making a strong argument for Punjab to host some of the matches in the forthcoming ODI World Cup, the minister said the state has given India some of its most famous and celebrated cricket stars in Bishan Singh Bedi, Mohinder Amarnath, Yashpal Sharma, Madan Lal, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Shubman Gill and Arshdeep Singh and has been a "frontrunner and flag bearer of the nation".
"In the sporting arena too, Punjab has the distinction of being the frontrunner and flag bearer of the Nation. When it comes to the National craze i.e. Cricket, Punjab has the honour of producing legends viz., Lala Amarnath, Bishan Singh Bedi, Mohinder Amarnath, Yashpal Sharma, Madan Lal, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Harbhajan Singh, Yuvraj Singh, Reetinder Sodhi, Dinesh Mongia, Harvinder Singh, Vikram Rathore, Sharandeep Singh and the latest sensations Shubman Gill and Arshdeep Singh, the list is endless," he stated in the letter.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader argued further that Punjab's sports infrastructure has "rubbed shoulders with the best in the world".
"The IS. Bindra Punjab Cricket Association (P.C.A.) stadium at Mohali has the distinction of playing host to 2 World Cup Semifinal ties, one in 1996 Wills World Cup and the other time in 2011 (Apart from two league encounters) besides 2 matches in the 2016 World T-20," the minister added in his letter.
Earlier, in an exclusive interview with ANI, BCCI Vice President Rajiv Shukla said Mohali, which is the only cricket stadium in Punjab to host international matches, does not meet the standards set by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the sport's global governing body, and has hence not been allotted any World Cup matches.
Countering this claim in his letter to the BCCI chief, the minister called on the country's premier cricket governing body to come clean on the criteria of the ICC that Mohali couldn't meet. He also called on Binny to clarify if the ICC had sent a team to inspect and assess the facilities and infrastructure at the P.C.A stadium.
"I (Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer) want to know what the ICC criteria are based on which Mohali was considered ineligible for the match. Apart from this, any change made in the norms at present should also be brought to light as the India-Australia International T20 match was played in September 2022. Besides, ODI World Cup matches including two semi-finals were also played in the past. It should also be stated whether the ICC team visited the Mohali Stadium to inspect the standards?" the minister wrote.
He asserted that the P.C.A stadium at Mohali is "not only one of the top stadiums in India but also comes in the list of prominent stadiums in the world".
"Mohali is always the first choice of cricket fans. Mohali has an international airport and the city also has better infrastructure and adequate hotels for the teams to stay," he added.
"However, the schedule for the upcoming ICC World Cup-2023 to be held in October and November this year is sans any allotment of matches to Punjab which belies completely the sense of fair play," he wrote further in his letter.
Urging the country's top cricket governing body to rectify this "anomaly at the earliest", the minister said "it would be in the interest of justice to allot a few encounters to Punjab and not leave it in the lurch".
Voicing his misgivings over Punjab losing out on an opportunity to host World Cup matches, Hayer said earlier, "The exclusion of Punjab's Mohali from the list of host cities for the tournament was due to political interference. Punjab government will raise this issue with the BCCI."
Shukla said that 12 venues have been chosen for the mega cricketing event this time something which has not happened before.
"For the first time, 12 venues have been chosen for World Cup. These many venues had not been chosen in previous World Cups. Out of these 12 venues, warm-up matches will be held in Trivandrum and Guwahati while the remaining venues will host league matches. More centres have been accommodated. From South Zone four venues, from central zone one venue, West Zone two, North Zone two venues. Delhi and Dharamshala will host the matches (In North Zone)," Shukla told ANI.
He added that Mohali will host matches in bilateral series that India is involved in, going forward, and there will be no discrimination.
"Virat Kohli's 100th Test last year was given to Mohali. Mullanpur Stadium is getting ready in Mohali. Had it been ready, they would have got a World Cup match. The current stadium in Mohali did not meet the standards of ICC and hence was denied matches. But that does not matches would not be given to them. Bilateral series matches will be given to them, it is based on a rotational system. No 'pick and choosing' has been done. ICC's consent is important in finalising the venues. In Trivandrum, warm-up matches have been given, for the first time. It is not that any centre/zone has been ignored. Stadiums have been chosen after a lot of consideration, even in North East Zone, Guwahati got the matches. A lot of accommodation has been done in the schedule," he added.
On the World Cup schedule, Shukla said that new venues have been added this time around.
"Lucknow has been added. Uttar Pradesh never got a chance to host a World Cup match. Guwahati has been given a chance. Many venues from the South have been added. A fair amount of consideration was given before venues were finalised. ICC has to approve these venues. It is not purely in our hands. All those raising objections should realise that we need consent from ICC to pick up these venues," he said.
The opening match of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, featuring defending champions England and runner-up New Zealand, is set to commence on October 5 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Ten teams will feature in this biggest Cricket World Cup ever, to be played across 10 venues from October 5 to November 19, with the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosting the tournament opener and the final. The event will feature 48 matches to be played across 46 days.
India's World Cup campaign will begin with a match against Australia on October 8 in Chennai.
The venues other than Ahmedabad and Chennai are Bengaluru, Delhi, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune. while Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram will join Hyderabad in hosting the practice games.
Arch-rivals India and Pakistan will square off at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 on October 15 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Eight teams have qualified for the 46-day event through the Cricket World Cup Super League while the final two spots will be taken by the finalists of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier taking place in Zimbabwe.
The tournament retains the round-robin format of last time with all teams playing against each other for a total of 45 league matches. There are six-day matches which will start at 10h30 Indian Standard Time (IST) while all other matches, including the knockouts, will be day-night fixtures starting at 14h00 IST.
The top four teams will qualify for the semifinals, to be played in Mumbai on November 15 and in Kolkata on November 16. The semi-finals and the final will have reserve days.
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